NEW YORK, Nov. 24, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq:JBLU) today announces it received top honors in three categories in this year's Zagat Airline Survey, including 'Best Large Domestic Airline' for economy-class seating, 'Best Inflight Entertainment' for domestic flights and 'Most Eco-Friendly' airline. In addition, the New York-based carrier ranked second in the survey's 'Value for the Money' category, and third in each of the 'Website,' 'Consumer On-Time Estimates,' and 'Luggage Policy' categories.
"We are honored to be recognized by Zagat's surveyors as the leader in several categories this year, including the top domestic economy-class airline in the industry," said Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue. "This honor is a testament to our more than 11,500 crewmembers who provide our customers with high-quality service every day of the year. In this challenging industry and economic environment, we continue to set JetBlue apart from the competition as the customers' carrier of choice, offering value, comfort and quality entertainment to the jetting public."
The survey is based on the experiences of 9,950 frequent fliers and travel professionals who rated 85 major world airlines and 27 domestic U.S. airports. Each airline was separately rated on its premium and economy service for both domestic and international flights. The average surveyor took 16.3 flights in the past year aggregating 162,000 trips -- 38 % of which were for leisure and 62% for business.
Known as the "burgundy bible," Zagat Survey is the world's most trusted source for information about where to eat, drink, stay and play around the globe, and as such has become a symbol of quality. Zagat Survey rates and reviews airlines, restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, resorts, shopping, spas, and a range of other entertainment categories in over 100 countries and has been lauded as the "most up-to-date, comprehensive and reliable guides ever published" and as "a necessity second only to a valid credit card." Zagat content is available in print, on the Web, on the Palm and Windows Mobile operating systems, on BlackBerry, on mobile phones, and on TV. For more information, visit ZAGAT.com.
New York-based JetBlue Airways has created a new airline category based on value, service and style. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue is now pleased to offer customers Lots of Legroom and super-spacious Even More Legroom seats. JetBlue introduced complimentary in-flight e-mail and instant messaging services on aircraft "BetaBlue," a first among U.S. domestic airlines. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 51 cities with 500 daily flights. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information or reservations call 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583) or visit www.jetblue.com.
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This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature which represent our management's beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation, our extremely competitive industry; increases in fuel prices, maintenance costs and interest rates; our ability to implement our growth strategy, including the ability to operate reliably the EMBRAER 190 aircraft and our new terminal at JFK; our significant fixed obligations; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our culture as we grow; our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization; our dependence on the New York metropolitan market and the effect of increased congestion in this market; our reliance on automated systems and technology; our being subject to potential unionization; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers; changes in or additional government regulation; changes in our industry due to other airlines' financial condition; and external geopolitical events and conditions. Further information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to, the Company's 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.